The holiday season is a time for giving, so it’s also a great time for benefit shows. In fact, there are two happening this weekend. On Friday night, a Hoot For Hunger will take place at the Six String Cafe in New London. Thirteen acts will each perform ten minute sets beginning at 7 pm. Some of the artists playing the show are John Fries and Corina Malbaurn (from the John Fries Band), Ben and Nancy Parent (of the Rivergods), Vox Nova (Lorain Ohio, Craig Johnson, and Scott Mayfield), Maggie’s Guitar, Golden Ratio, and (self-promotion alert!) SheSaidHeSaid (yours truly with guitarist/vocalist Hugh Birdsall and bassist Jim Fitzgerald, both of Dogbite). See the calendar section below for the full list of musicians and their set times. The Six String Cafe is the former Bank Street Cafe, which is under new ownership. They have done a little redecorating inside, and they seem to be supportive of local original music. The club had a huge crowd for last weekend’s show with Heap and the 3-Pack, and hopefully the crowds will keep coming out to support the scene. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Proceeds will benefit the New London Community Meal Center, so be generous.

Also on Friday night, Steve Broderick and the 100 Watt Suns (http://www.100wattsuns.com/) will be at the Knickerbocker Cafe in Westerly. Vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Steve Broderick recently relocated to the Mystic area from New York City. He spent ten years playing with the Trans Siberian Orchestra, he’s toured with Bad Company, Johnny Winter, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and he has also sat in with such notables as Steven Tyler and Roger Daltrey. Other members of this indie roots band are vocalist/guitarist Dan Watson (also a solo singer/songwriter), slide guitarist/vocalist Bill Light (of the Hoolios), drummer DC Don Culp (formerly with John Cafferty’s band), and bassist Marty Maroney. They previously played under the names Shamrock Eyes and also Chester Main before settling on 100 Watt Suns. Steve has released two solo albums, and the 100 Watt Suns have a five-song EP of their own that was engineered by Jay Messina, who has worked with Miles Davis. They have been getting quite a bit of airplay on commercial radio and they are playing a lot of shows in the area and in New York. Be sure to catch this band live and be able to say you knew them before they got famous. The show starts at 8 pm and admission is $5.

On Saturday night, the John Fries Band (www.johnfriesmusic.com) plays a show at Hot Rod’s Cafe in New London. The band is going to be debuting some new tunes and they say there might be some “pyrotechnics”, so you’ll have to go to see what that is all about. John is a great guitar player and he always surrounds himself with talented band members as well, in this case bassist Corina Malbaurn and drummer Hillyn Natter, the newest member of the band. This event is a benefit for relief efforts in the Philippines in conjunction with Rotaract. Hot Rod’s is well known for their food, so you might want to show up hungry. The show starts at 9 pm.

Here are the 100 Watt Suns with “Couldn’t Hold a Candle”:

CONCERT CALENDAR

Thu 12/5/13 – Live Lunch Break with Heart’s Cry at the Telegraph in New London 12:00 noon (www.theday.com)

- The Hoolios (acoustic), the MacLean Sisters at Sneekers Cafe in Groton 7-10 pm NO COVER

- Cry Havoc!, Bragging Rights, the Lost Riots, the Coquettes at Two Boots in Bridgeport 9:30 pm NO COVER

Anne Castellano is a New London, CT songwriter and guitarist who fronts her own original band, Anne Castellano and the Smoke. She has also played in several other bands over the years (the Uninformed, the Skin Walkers, and the Cavities) and spent several years performing as a solo artist.

In 2010 she released a full-length self-produced CD entitled “What’s Been Going On”. Anne also collaborated with Hugh Birdsall (Dogbite, the Reducers) on an EP called “In the Dark”, released in 2012 under the name SheSaidHeSaid. She is a 30-year veteran of college radio, and is currently doing the Deranged Radio Show on alternate Tuesday evenings from 6-9 pm at WCNI 90.9 FM in New London.

She grew up in New Fairfield, CT in a musical family, with a father who played guitar and listened to country artists such as Hank Williams and Patsy Cline, and a mother who loved Elvis Presley. Involvement in band and chorus in high school led to membership in the UCONN Marching Band and a two-week tour of Europe performing with the band in the early 1980s.

Anne moved to New London in 1987 because of the vibrant local music scene there. She began putting together her weekly concert calendar in 2005, to get the word out about all the local band shows that were taking place in the area. She enjoys books, animals, hiking, and the beach, and sees as much live music as her “day job” schedule permits.